Gitt Up with Adam Larkin

Trey Jenkins was born into a family shaped by alcoholism, addiction, incarceration, and mental-health struggles.

When his mother went to prison during his early childhood, Trey was passed between relatives while his father traveled for work. His grandfather became the closest thing he had to stability and a real father figure.

But after leaving that life to live with his mother and brother, Trey was introduced to drug dealing, gangs, crime, pills, and street life. By 15, he was using substances to cope with what he was seeing—and what he was becoming involved in.

At 17, Trey received devastating news: his mother had breast and lung cancer and did not have long to live.

Two weeks later, she died while holding his hand.

That same night, Trey used heroin for the first time.

To everyone around him, he appeared tough—a gang member and drug dealer who could handle anything. Underneath that image, he was scared, grieving, shooting dope, and completely alone.

Then, just 28 days after losing his mother, Trey’s brother was killed through gun and gang violence while they were together in a car.

His addiction spiraled.

Homelessness, detoxes, treatment centers, crime, and survival became his reality. At 19, Trey was shot in the leg and spent six months in the hospital. Doctors told him he was fortunate the bullet had missed a major artery.

When he was released, he was homeless in downtown New Jersey and walking with a cane.

Around age 20, Trey committed a crime that resulted in 33 months in prison. After his release, he was paroled to Cincinnati and stayed sober for a period—but unresolved pain, manipulation, toxic relationships, and relapse continued to follow him.

Fatherhood eventually planted the seed for change.

Thinking about his son Matteo—and later learning that his daughter Amia was on the way—forced Trey to confront the life he was creating and the kind of father he wanted to become.

He returned to treatment, started listening, accepted guidance, found a sponsor, worked the steps, earned his peer-support certification, and built a genuine foundation in recovery.

Today, Trey has 50% custody of his children and has also become a father figure to Maisie, the daughter of his partner in recovery.

He wakes up every day with the opportunity to help other people and has launched Breaking Generational Curses, a clothing brand that gives a portion of its proceeds to God Behind Bars.

Trey’s mission is bigger than staying sober.

He is building a life his children can be proud of—and working to ensure they never experience the pain of addiction or growing up with an addicted parent.

This is a conversation about grief, heroin addiction, gang violence, homelessness, prison, fatherhood, recovery, and finally building a life you no longer need to escape from.

Every story has a lesson. Every lesson has the power to change a life.

Learn more about the podcast, apply to be a guest, or explore sponsorship and advertising opportunities:

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Follow, rate, review, and share this episode with someone who needs to hear that it is possible to break a generational curse.

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More than a decade of IV heroin addiction nearly took everything.

Addiction ran through almost the entire family. Life became consumed by survival, consequences, grief, and a system that would eventually change her family forever.

One of the deepest losses came when a child was placed in a closed adoption.

Years later, life came full circle in a way nobody could have predicted.

Today, Jamie Ivey has eight years of sobriety. She is a full-time mother, a college student, and the operations manager at a facility that provides drug testing and counseling services for parents involved in family cases with the Fayette County courts.

The same kind of system that once caused some of the greatest pain in her life is now where she gets to serve others.

She sees firsthand what social workers, parents, and families experience every day. She understands the fear, the judgment, the consequences, and the possibility of transformation because she has lived it.

Before stepping into her current role, Jamie served as the director of operations for a local recovery program for four years. When she moved forward, she passed that leadership position to a former client who had come through the program and transformed into an incredible woman.

That full-circle moment represents what recovery can truly create.

In this powerful conversation with Adam Larkin, Jamie opens up about:

Growing up surrounded by family addiction

Struggling with IV heroin use for more than 10 years

Losing a child through a closed adoption

Rebuilding her life through recovery

Celebrating eight years of sobriety

Becoming a present and committed mother

Returning to college

Working with parents involved in family-court cases

Seeing addiction and family separation from both sides

Leading a recovery program for four years

Passing her position to a former client whose life transformed

Turning her greatest pain into purpose

Why recovery can restore far more than sobriety

This is not a story about pretending the past never happened.

It is a story about using the most painful chapters of life to become the person someone else needs.

Jamie is proof that recovery can lead to motherhood, education, leadership, service, and an entirely new future.

It is never too late to GITT UP.

Connect With GITT Up
Official Website:
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Connect with Jamie
https://www.facebook.com/jamie.ivey.376

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Interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring an episode, advertising your business, or partnering with GITT Up with Adam Larkin?

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Every story has a lesson. Every lesson has the power to change a life.

#GITTUpPodcast #AddictionRecovery #MothersInRecovery

Nathan Thomas was introduced to substances by his own family when he was only 9 years old.

By his early teenage years, his addiction had escalated to benzodiazepines and other pills. At 17, Nathan was homeless, moving from place to place and desperately trying to outrun a life that was quickly falling apart.

But the streets were only the beginning.

For the next 11 years, Nathan found himself repeatedly incarcerated. Every time he was released, his addiction became more destructive. The consequences grew, the pain deepened, and the possibility of building a different life seemed farther away.

After being released from prison on a drug-sales conviction, Nathan experienced the most devastating loss of his life—the death of his first son. He was also blessed with a daughter and finally understood that he could not continue living the same way.

Nathan says God gave him a clear choice: continue down the path that had already taken nearly everything from him, or completely surrender and begin again.

On May 15, 2021, Nathan chose recovery.

Through faith, Alcoholics Anonymous, Celebrate Recovery, accountability, and a willingness to do something completely different, his life began to transform.

Today, Nathan is a trusted man, a devoted family man, and a professional who helps other people every day. He went from childhood substance use, homelessness, addiction, incarceration, and unbearable grief to a life filled with purpose, peace, responsibility, and service.

In this raw conversation with Adam Larkin, Nathan opens up about:

Being introduced to substances at only 9 years old

Escalating to benzodiazepines and pills as a teenager

Becoming homeless at 17

Spending 11 years in and out of incarceration

Returning to addiction after every release

Losing his first son

The moment God forced him to make a choice

Getting sober on May 15, 2021

Finding recovery through AA and Celebrate Recovery

Rebuilding trust, family, purpose, and peace

Why nobody is ever too far gone

Nathan’s story is proof that your past may explain where you have been—but it does not have to determine where you are going.

It is never too late to GITT UP.

Connect With Nathan Thomas
Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/PerfectImperfectionsKY/

Connect With GITT Up
Official Website:
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YouTube:
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https://www.facebook.com/adam.larkin.399/

Instagram:
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TikTok:
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Become Part of the Show
Have a powerful story to share?

Interested in becoming a guest, sponsoring an episode, advertising your business, or partnering with GITT Up with Adam Larkin?

Visit:
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Follow the show, leave a review, and share this episode with someone who needs to be reminded that change is still possible.

Every story has a lesson. Every lesson has the power to change a life.

#GITTUpPodcast #AddictionRecovery #SecondChances

Chase Dudley received his first camera as a Christmas gift when he was just 15 years old. That one gift sparked a passion that would eventually lead him to become an award-winning filmmaker, director, producer, writer, actor, and entrepreneur.

In this episode, Chase shares how he built his career from the ground up, launched his own production company, directed award-winning independent films, and turned his passion for storytelling into a successful business. We also discuss the realities of independent filmmaking, entrepreneurship, leadership, creativity, and what it truly takes to build a career in one of the world's most competitive industries.

Whether you're an aspiring filmmaker, entrepreneur, content creator, or someone chasing a dream, this conversation is packed with practical advice, inspiration, and the mindset required to keep moving forward.

🎬 Connect with Chase Dudley
IMDb
https://www.linkedin.com/in/chase-dudley/

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Whether you're a CEO, entrepreneur, creator, athlete, author, actor, producer, director, or someone with an inspiring comeback story, we'd love to connect.

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Every story has a lesson. Every lesson has the power to change a life.

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Jessica Ashby's story is one of unimaginable loss, addiction, redemption, and hope.

After losing her brother in a tragic car crash as a teenager, Jessica spent years trying to outrun grief. What began as experimenting with drugs and alcohol eventually turned into a devastating opioid addiction after being prescribed oxycodone following the birth of her daughter. Addiction led to a felony conviction, broken relationships, and years of chaos.

Everything changed when Jessica made the decision to return to treatment and fully commit to recovery.

Then tragedy struck again.

On December 7, 2024, Jessica's mother and stepfather were killed by an impaired driver. Instead of returning to addiction, she leaned on the recovery community that had helped rebuild her life and turned unimaginable pain into purpose.

Today, Jessica is living proof that redemption is real. She received a full pardon from Governor Andy Beshear, founded the Cardinal Grace Foundation to help others rebuild their lives, is pursuing her Master's in Public Administration, and continues to advocate for recovery, second chances, and hope.

This is a powerful conversation about grief, addiction, recovery, forgiveness, resilience, and rebuilding your life after unimaginable tragedy.

CONNECT WITH GITT UP
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 YouTube
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